Thermal energy storage member and storage container using the same, and refrigerator using the same

Abstract

A thermal energy storage member 1 includes: a thin-plate outer shape having an opposing upper face 1a and lower face 1b; a thermal energy storage material 3 filled in the inside of a package material 2; and a thermal conduction amount adjusting portion 4 that, in a case where difference occurs between temperature at the upper face 1a side and temperature at the lower face 1b side, reduces difference in thermal conduction amount per unit of time at the upper face 1a and the lower face 1b.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A storage container comprising:
 a main container; 
 an opening and closing door capable of opening and closing a space within the main container; 
 a cooling chamber provided within the space, that cools goods at a temperature lower than an ambient temperature during operation; 
 a cooler that cools an inside of the cooling chamber from above within the cooling chamber by natural convection; 
 a thermal energy storage, disposed below the cooler within the cooling chamber, that stores latent heat from cold air from the cooler; and 
 a holder that holds the thermal energy storage within the cooling chamber and is provided on an inner wall of the cooling chamber, wherein 
 the thermal energy storage includes:
 a hollow package material having an opposing upper face and a lower face, and 
 a thermal energy storage material filled without any gap in the package material, the thermal energy storage material stores latent heat and exhibits a reversible phase change between a liquid phase and a solid phase at a predetermined phase-change temperature, 
 
 a gap layer is provided on an upper face side of the package material, the gap layer covering an entire upper surface of the package material to define a sealed space, 
 the thermal energy storage divides the cooling chamber into an upper space including the cooler and a lower space, and 
 the thermal energy storage is partially overlapped with the cooler in the vertical direction such that a total area of overlap parallel to a horizontal plane of the thermal energy storage with the cooler is smaller than a total area of the cooler parallel to the horizontal plane. 
 
     
     
       2. A storage container comprising:
 a main container; 
 an opening and closing door capable of opening and closing a space within the main container; 
 a cooling chamber provided within the space, that cools goods at a temperature lower than an ambient temperature during operation; 
 a cooler that cools an inside of the cooling chamber from above within the cooling chamber by natural convection; 
 a thermal energy storage disposed below the cooler within the cooling chamber, that stores latent heat from cold air from the cooler that is provided above the thermal energy storage; and 
 a holder that holds the thermal energy storage within the cooling chamber and is provided on an inner wall of the cooling chamber, wherein 
 the thermal energy storage includes:
 a hollow package material including an opposing upper face and a lower face, and 
 a thermal energy storage material filled in the package material, the thermal energy storage material stores latent heat and exhibits a reversible phase change between a liquid phase and a solid phase at a predetermined phase-change temperature, 
 
 the package material has a wider surface area at an upper face side than a surface area at a lower face side, 
 the upper face side of the package material that receives the cold air from the cooler directly is corrugated and the lower face side of the package material is flat, 
 the thermal energy storage divides the cooling chamber into an upper space including the cooler and a lower space, and 
 the thermal energy storage is partially overlapped with the cooler in a vertical direction such that a total area of overlap parallel to a horizontal plane of the thermal energy storage with the cooler is smaller than a total area of the cooler parallel to the horizontal plane. 
 
     
     
       3. The storage container according to  claim 1 , wherein a cross-sectional area of the thermal energy storage parallel to a horizontal plane is smaller than a cross-sectional area of the cooler. 
     
     
       4. The storage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the package material is provided with holes that include sealed perimeters. 
     
     
       5. The storage container according to  claim 2 , wherein a cross-sectional area of the thermal energy storage parallel to a horizontal plane is smaller than the cooler. 
     
     
       6. The storage container according to  claim 2 , wherein the package material is provided with holes that include sealed perimeters. 
     
     
       7. The storage container according to  claim 3 , wherein the package material is provided with holes that include sealed perimeters. 
     
     
       8. The storage container according to  claim 5 , wherein the package material is provided with holes that include sealed perimeters.